The Apprentice
by Aratriss
Summary: When a little girl shows up at the Jade Palace, Master Shifu adopts her and trains her. The little girl, however, in danger. Her father is trying to get rid of her. Will he succeed? I am giving credit to both Dreamworks and Nickelodeon for the movies and show. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a clear night in China. A tigress walked through the Valley of Peace. She had a little white tiger cub by her side. "STOP!" a gruff voice shouted. They turned around. Another tiger stood there. His piercing amber eyes stared at them. "Dear, please don't do this!" the tigress cried.

"It's too late for that, Keyna, and you know it. Hand over the girl," the tiger replied.

"No! It'd break my heart to watch you hurt our last daughter!"

"I never wanted to do this, but you leave me no choice!"

"NO!"

The tiger attacked Keyna, but Keyna fought back. Frightened, the little cub began to back away. She heard her mother ordering that she run away and run she did. She could still hear her parents' battle. 'Why are they doing this?' she thought, as she ran. She stopped by a building and gasped for air. "Hey!" a shadowy voice called. The cub looked up, and she saw two other tiger cubs standing in front of her. "Brothers, why?" she asked them.

"Father wants you gone, and gone you'll be," one of them replied.

The sister cub gulped and took off; her brothers gave chase. She ran and ran and ran, until she finally lost them. She heard them stomp away. The cub sighed with relief. She looked around and saw a long flight of stairs with a lonely palace perched on the top of the rugged hill, or mountain, or whatever you would like to call it.

"I wonder who lives up there?" she wondered. She glanced back to make sure no one was watching then hesitantly made her way up the stairs. She reached the top and knocked on the palace door, but nobody answered. She opened the door. "Hello? Anybody home?" she called. Only silence answered. The cub frowned. She left the place and sat on the steps. The cub looked down. She could make out two people fighting in the distance. Her parents.

Her parents have never fought before. The cub never thought this could happen, but it did. "Why?" she asked, tears pricking her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Po looked around the Hall of Heroes. He could have sworn he heard a voice earlier. He checked everywhere but saw no one. "Huh, that's weird," he said, scratching his head. He opened the door and looked out. He saw a little white tiger cub sitting on the steps. He pitied the child and walked over to her. "Hey, why are you out here?" Po asked.

"Mama and Daddy are fighting, and Mama- she told me to run. Then my mean brothers- they tried to hurt me!" the cub cried.

"Aw, well, uh, don't cry! Uh, wait here. I'll be right back!" Po said and took off. He ran to find Master Shifu, who was in his bedroom. "Master Shifu!" Po yelled, barging into Shifu's room.

"What, Po?" Shifu asked, annoyed.

"There's a little girl outside."

"A girl?"

"Yeah, she told me her parents were fighting, and that her brothers tried to hurt her. Should we take her in?"

"Hmm… Let me go talk to her."

Master Shifu got out of his bed and followed Po to where the little girl was. The little girl was still there, except this time she was standing instead of sitting. She looked at them with her big blue eyes. "Hullo," she said, as they walked over to her. "Hello, child," Master Shifu said. "Can you tell me why you are here?" The little girl responded with the same answer that she told to Po. "I see," Shifu said. "I'll let you stay at the JadePalace, until I can contact your family. Can you tell me what your name is?"

"My name is Atara," the little girl replied.

"That doesn't Chinese," Po commented.

"It's not. It's Hebrew, but my mom liked it so she named me that."

"Oh, that's cool!"

"Thanks."

Atara smiled. Master Shifu looked down at the valley. He could see two people fighting. "Atara, are those your parents?" Shifu asked, pointing to the two people.

"Yes," Atara answered.

Master Shifu looked at Po. "Po, I want you to stop that fight right now!" he ordered.

"Yes, Master Shifu," Po said and took off with as fast as he could.

Atara looked at Master Shifu. "Will they be ok?" she asked.

"I don't know," Shifu replied, watching Po running to the fighting scene.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Master Shifu led Atara to a small bedroom. "You'll be sleeping in here," he said. Atara nodded her head and climbed into her bed. Shifu left and walked back to his room. He would tell the others about Atara tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Po was attempting to break up the fighting between Atara's parents. So far, so bad. Po ended up having to fight them just to break up the fight. After that, they just stormed off in opposite directions, with a lot of yelling. Po did find out that the father was trying to get rid of his own daughter, with the help of his sons.

Po sighed and quietly walked back to the JadePalace. He wished there was something he could do, but what could he possibly do? Tell Master Shifu? No, he probably went back to sleep. Po walked up to the stairs that led to the palace. "I hate stairs," he groaned, staring up at the long flight of stairs. He began to walk up the steps. By the time he reached the top, he was sticky with sweat and panting like a runner who just finished a race.

After he caught his breath, he went inside and cleaned up. Then, he went to his room and collapsed on his bed, but he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about little Atara and what she had to go through this night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The following day, Shifu introduced everyone to Atara and told them about her situation. They understood. They all tried to make Atara feel welcome. Well, all except Tigress. Tigress, remembering the whole episode with Zan, didn't want to get too attached to another child.

Now, Shifu was asking Atara some questions. "Atara, where did you live?" he asked.

"India," Atara replied.

"That's very far. Why did your parents bring you here?"

"Well, actually, my mama brought me here. I guess, my daddy and brothers followed us."

"Do you know why they were fighting yesterday?"

"No… All I know is that my daddy is bad and mean and bad."

"I see. What are their names?"

"Mama's name is Keyna and Daddy's name is Shahhai."

"What?"

"I said their names are-"

"No, not that! Do you realize who your parents are?"

"Yeah, they're my parents."

"I know that! I mean, they're the rulers of India!"

"I know, Master Shifu. That means I'm a princess."

"You are smart child, Atara. Have you heard of kung fu?"

"Yes, Mama taught the basics!"

"Good. That means, I can teach you more about kung fu."

"Really? Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy!"

Master Shifu chuckled at Atara's happiness. It's been a while since he's trained a child, and he was glad to do it again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Deep in the Bamboo Forest, a tiger and three tiger cubs have made a little hut. The tiger was Atara's father Shahhai. Little was known of him, except that he was the ruler of India, and considering the fact that Shifu's heard of him, he must be very well known around Asia. What his intentions are we will soon find out.

Shahhai was scolding his youngest son Riku. Riku, being only six, didn't understand what was going on. Then again, he was six. Riku did know that his father just wanted to get rid of his sister, whom he had just found out about months ago. Yes, they all found out about Atara months ago, but you'll find out later, maybe sooner.

Shahhai paced back and forth. His sons watched him. "Hmm, we can't just stand around here doing nothing!" he muttered. Riku raised his paw. "What, Riku?" his father asked in annoyance.

"Why can't we just go home?" Riku asked.

"Because we are on a quest! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Riku whimpered and stepped back a little. Shahhai shook his head then looked at his three sons. An idea came to his mind. "Sons, I want you to go and find out where your disgraceful sister is, and don't come back until you know her whereabouts!" he ordered. His sons nodded their heads and took off. Shahhai chuckled. "This'll be easier than I thought," he said to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Get into position," Master Shifu instructed Atara. Atara got into her kung fu stance. "Good, now do a side kick." Atara obeyed. Her kick was perfect. "Good," Master Shifu commented. Shifu told Atara to perform other basic kung fu moves before finally telling her that she has the potential to become a master. Of course, Atara, being only eight, isn't going to master everything at such an early age.

Suddenly, Zeng the messenger burst into the room. "MASTER SHIFU!" he cried, causing Atara to mess up and fall to the floor. "What?" Shifu asked.

"There's a disturbance in the village! We need help!" Zeng explained briefly.

"Ok, I'll send the Five and the Dragon Warrior."

He turned to Atara. "You're training is over for today," he said and then ran off to find the others. He found them eating lunch in the dining room. "Furious Five and Po, there's a disturbance in the village. You must go there now and fast!" Shifu explained quickly.

"Yes, Master Shifu!" they all replied in unison.

They quickly left, and Po grabbed his bowl of dumplings to eat on the way there. "Po, no dumplings!" Shifu scolded. Po, while running, threw his bowl to Shifu and yelled, "They were stale anyways!" Shifu tasted a dumpling and grimaced. They _were_ stale.

Meanwhile in the village, there was havoc and chaos. Things were knocked over, people were either hiding in there homes or running around in circles and screaming, and some homes and buildings were on fire. Mr. Ping saw his son and the Furious Five and ran over to them. "Thank goodness, you're here!" he cried.

"Dad, what happened?" Po asked with genuine concern.

"These three rapscallions came out of nowhere and started wreaking havoc!"

"Mr. Ping, who are these people?" Tigress asked.

"THEM!" Mr. Ping yelled, pointing his finger at three tiger cubs.

"Huh?" Po asked.

Mr. Ping ran to his shop and home screaming like a little girl. The three cubs walked over to them. "Hi, there, little kids!" Po greeted them sweetly.

"Uh, Po, they're the trouble makers," Crane said.

"Yeah, we're the trouble makers!" the oldest cub said disrespectfully.

"Well, can you stop?" Po asked.

The cubs looked at each other and then threw fire poppers at them. Fortunately, Tigress, Monkey, and Po managed to stop the kids. "What is your problem?" Po asked them.

"We don't have a problem! We have a mission!" the middle cub retorted.

"Yeah, we have to find our sister!" the youngest cub added.

"Your sister?" Viper asked.

"Yeah, her name is Atara."

The Five and Po could not believe what they just heard. "You- You're Atara's brothers?" Po asked.

The cubs nodded their heads. Before Po or anyone could speak, a loud growl was heard. The cubs squirmed out of the grasps of Tigress, Po, and Monkey and ran toward the growl. A big tiger appeared with the cubs right behind him. "You must be their father," Po said to him.

"I am. Allow me to introduce myself. I am King Shahhai of India, and I am looking for my daughter Atara. Have you seen her?" the tiger said.

"Oh, yeah, we're training her at the JadePalace!" Po replied.

Tigress slapped him. "Oops," Po muttered. Shahhai restricted himself from fighting them. He turned around and walked away quietly. "Well, that was weird," Monkey said.

"Yeah, I thought for sure he was going to fight us," Po replied.

"Let's go tell Master Shifu. I'm sure he'll want to hear this," Tigress said. The others agreed, and they walked back to the Jade Palace.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Later that day, the Furious Five and Po told Master Shifu what happened. Master Shifu was perplexed. "This is a curious thing indeed," he said, stroking his tiny beard. He then looked at Atara, who was quietly watching them with her big blue eyes. "Atara, do you know why your father wants you so badly?" he asked her.

"Yes, Mama told me that this bad guy mocked him because he had more daughters instead of sons, so he killed all of my sisters, but Mama hid me in a secret room so he won't get me," Atara replied.

"Then, how did he find you out?" Monkey asked.

"He found out about the room, and me and Mama were in it," Atara answered.

The adults exchanged surprised glances. They were surprised that a little girl could remember that so accurately. "This is surprising," Master Shifu commented. The others agreed. "What do we do now, Master Shifu?" Viper asked.

"Well, for now, we just continue to do what we normally do, but we have to protect Atara, as well. She could be in serious danger at any moment and…" Shifu trailed. He looked around the room. His eyes grew wide. "Wait a second! Where's Atara?" Everyone gasped and began to search for Atara, but they couldn't find her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Atara sighed. She had skillfully climbed up the roof of the Jade Palace. She saw the others looking for her, but she didn't want to come down. She heard what Shifu said about her having to be under protection, and, well, she didn't want that. Of course, she didn't understand why she had to be protected. For now, she just knew that half her family is wickedly crazy.

Atara watched the Furious Five, Po, and Shifu quickly walking down the steps. She smiled. "Good, they're gone!" she said to herself. "Now, I can finally be alone!"

"Yes, alone," a deep voice said. Atara turned around and saw her father, Shahhai. Atara screamed and tried to run but ended up falling off the roof. Thankfully, she landed on a bush that just _happened_ to be there. Shahhai jumped off the roof. Atara hid in the bush. Luckily, it was big enough to conceal her white fur. Shahhai scratched his head. He turned around and saw the bush. "Of course," he thought. He walked over to the bush. Before he could reach it, Atara jumped out of it and ran toward the village. Shahhai groaned. "Arg! She's too fast! I'll try again another time," he said to himself. He walked away.

Atara watched him leave. "Huh?" she asked herself. "Why'd he just give up?" When Shahhai was gone, Atara went back inside the Jade Palace. The door opened. "Atara!" Po cried, running up to Atara and hugging her. The Furious Five and Shifu sighed with relief. "Don't scare us like that ever again!" Master Shifu said.

"Yeah! You had us worried sick!" Monkey added.

Atara gave them a small smile. "Sorry," she apologized. Shifu shook his head. "You should know better than to run off like that. Where were you anyways?" he asked.

"The roof," replied Atara.

"You climbed onto the roof?" Po asked

"Uh-huh."

"Whoa!"

Tigress groaned and said to Po, "Po, she's a tiger like me. She's meant to climb things!"

"I know that, but, I mean, she's a kid!"

"Yeah, and I climbed onto the roof when I was four. Big deal!"

Before they could bicker some more, Shifu interrupted and told them that it was time to train.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shahhai paced back and forth. He didn't know what to do next. His children watched him. "What am I going to do?" he muttered. Riku raised his paw. Shahhai sighed and asked, "What, Riku?"

"Can we go home?" Riku asked.

"No! We're not going home until we get rid of that little brat!"

Shahhai growled, and his middle son, Avni, raised his paw. "What?" Shahhai asked him.

"May I use the bathroom?" Avni asked.

Shahhai groaned and pointed to a faraway bush. "There's your bathroom! Now, go!" he growled. Avni meekly ran to the bush. Then, Shahhai got an idea. A wickedly evil idea, that is. He grinned wickedly and turned to his sons, excluding Avni who was still at the bush. "Sons, I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help," he said, chuckling maliciously.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was late at night, and Atara was walking to the training room. She figured she would practice her kung fu a bit. She entered and saw Tigress training. She watched as Tigress completed the course. She clapped and startled Tigress. Tigress turned around. "What are you doing here?" she asked the white tiger cub.

"I was going to practice my kung fu," Atara replied.

"Ok, but don't get in my way!"

Atara nodded and meekly walked over to a corner. She began to practice but couldn't concentrate. She watched as Tigress completed the course yet again. "Why can't I do kung fu like that?" Atara thought, with a sudden pang of jealousy. "Maybe she could teach me! But she seemed angry." Atara shook her head tried to concentrate. She punched and kicked a training dummy. Then, she decided to try something. She went behind it, jumped, and kicked it hard. The dummy flew across the room, surprising Atara. "Whoa," she said. Tigress looked when she heard the dummy thud against the floor. "Atara, don't try to break it!" she scolded.

"I wasn't trying to! I just kicked it and it flew way over there!" Atara explained.

"Do it again."

"Huh?"

"I want to see you do it."

Atara looked at Tigress with wonder. Tigress put the dummy back in its spot, and Atara went behind it and performed her move again. Tigress smiled. "Good job," she praised. Atara couldn't believe it. Tigress was smiling and praising her at the same time! She smiled at Tigress. "Could I try the training course?" she asked.

"No, you're not ready for that yet," Tigress replied.

"When will I be ready?"

"When you're older. Now, let's get you to bed. It's getting late."

Tigress led little Atara to her room. Atara thought it weird that Tigress was being nice to her. While they were walking, Atara asked, "Tigress, why are you being nice to me?" The question shocked Tigress. "Uh, well, I- I don't know. I guess it's just that you're going through so much at such a young age," Tigress replied.

"Oh, well, um, remember earlier today?"

"When you went missing? Yes."

"Well, um, I kind of, uh, was ambushed by my dad."

Tigress stopped walking and looked at Atara with pure concern. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked.

"I, um, didn't want you guys be so worried about me," was the meek reply.

Tigress shook her head. "You know, you worry me sometimes," she said. She grabbed Atara's paw and led her to her room.

Meanwhile, Shahhai and his sons were approaching the Jade Palace. He chuckled. "In the morning, we'll strike!" he said.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next day while everyone was eating breakfast, Master Shifu ran into the room. "The valley is being attacked by croc bandits! You all must stop them now!" he ordered. They all bowed and ran out. Atara didn't go, of course. She stayed with Shifu. After she finished her breakfast, she went outside to get some fresh air. She pulled out a small wooden flute that was attached to her belt, and she began to play a song. When she finished, she heard several people clapping.

Atara whirled around and saw her evil father and brothers. She quickly pulled out a hidden whistle and brought it to her lips. "Wait!" Shahhai cried, and Atara waited. "I don't want to hurt you," Shahhai explained.

"What do you mean?" Atara asked, confused.

"We mean that we're done with all this!" her older brother Yengin replied.

Atara took a step back. "You're lying," she said.

"I'm not lying!" cried Yengin.

"Enough, both of you!" Shahhai ordered. "Atara, as your father, I'm telling you that I and you're brothers are done trying to hurt you."

"So this is for real?" Atara asked

Shahhai nodded his head, but Riku stepped forward. "No! It's a trap!" he cried, and with that, Atara ran off, blowing on her whistle. Shahhai slapped him, but Riku didn't care; he was proud that he saved his sister's life.

*Author's note: I do not know if there are whistles in the show/movies*


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

In the village, Po and the Furious Five had just defeated and tied up the croc bandits. "Ha! How do you like us now?" Po mocked them. Fung, the leader of the croc bandits, sighed. "He is going to be upset," he muttered.

"Huh?" Po asked.

"Oh, we were sent by some tiger to distract you so he could get some kid," one of the bandits stupidly confessed.

"Were you supposed to tell us that?" Mantis asked.

"No."

Fung glared at that croc, and Po and Monkey led them to prison, while the rest of the Five went back to the Jade Palace. Upon arriving, they found Master Shifu and Atara talking nearby. "Master Shifu, we heard about the incident! Is Atara alright?" Tigress asked.

"She's fine, Tigress," Shifu replied, smiling. "In fact, I was just about to teach her a new kung fu move."

Tigress sighed and walked away. "What's up with Tigress?" Mantis asked.

"Yeah, I've never seen her so concerned before!" Crane agreed.

Master Shifu, not knowing how to reply to Mantis's question, shrugged in response. He led Atara to the training room, and the rest of the Five went to do whatever is they needed to do.

Meanwhile in the BambooForest, Shahhai was pacing back and forth. He growled under his breath. "Why isn't anything working?" he asked himself. His sons casually watched him. They were growing tired of this charade and wanted to go home. "Dad, can we forget about this and go home?" Yengin asked.

"No! I am no leaving, until she is destroyed!" Shahhai snapped at him.

"Why? This is hopeless! We can just leave her and just forget about her! And come to think of it, India needs their leader! With you gone, your rival might have usurped your throne!"

Shahhai sighed. His son was right. He knew his son was right. He just wanted to prove something to his rival. He looked at Yengin and said, "I'm going to try one more time. After that, we're going home."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Atara wandered through the Jade Palace at her ease. She was still afraid that her father and brothers might try something else, but she was ready. She was ready to defend herself at any minute. She may just be a child, but her skills in kung fu have blossomed to a whole new level that even impressed Master Shifu.

She held her head proudly as she walked. She walked toward the student barracks and soon walked up to her door, but something didn't seem right. A loud crash was heard in a nearby room, and someone was yelling at someone. Atara rushed to the scene and couldn't believe what she saw. Her father was fighting against the Furious Five and Po! Her father saw her and kicked Po away from him. He charged at Atara, and Atara shut her eyes tightly and thrust out her hands.

A green bubble surrounded her, and Shahhai crashed into it. Everyone gasped. Atara looked at her paws and then at her father. "Did I do that?" she asked. The others slowly nodded. Shahhai slowly got up, but Po and Tigress cuffed him. "Your going to Chor Ghom Prison for a very long time, Shahhai!" Po said to him. Shahhai growled.

Later that day, Atara's brothers came to the Jade Palace. Everyone was surprised, especially Atara. Her brothers apologized for their actions, and Atara forgave them. Master Shifu smiled as the siblings got along and played. He thought about keeping them until a knock interrupted his thoughts. Po opened the door, and there stood a Bengal tigress with five long scars running down the left side of her face.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"May I help you?" Master Shifu asked the tigress.

"Yes, my name is Keyna, and I'm looking for my children. I saw three of them walking up here," the tigress replied.

"In that case, they're right in here."

Master Shifu let Keyna in. Atara and her brothers ran up to her, and their mother embraced them tightly. Tigress watched this with a pang of jealousy, for she never knew what her mother was like.

Master Shifu asked to talk to Keyna later that day, so she followed him to a room. "So what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked.

"It's about your children. I would like to teach your children kung fu, if that's ok with you," Shifu requested.

"Oh, well, all right. I was hoping to take them back to India with me, for I am needed there."

"I understand, India needs its queen."

"Yes, but I'm not leaving yet, not until my husband is free from prison."

"I see, well, you can stay at the Jade Palace until then, and I can teach your children kung fu."

"Thank you, Master Shifu, I appreciate it."

Meanwhile in Chor Ghom Prison, Shahhai was sitting in a cell. He was all alone. "What have I done?" he asked himself, shaking his head sadly. "My family will never forgive me!" He began to sob quietly, something he hadn't done since he broke his arm when he was thirteen. All that mattered to him now was that his family was safe and sound and that his country was not falling to pieces without its leader.

THE END


End file.
